Xavier De La Torre

Update: The Santa Clara County Board of Education has narrowed its search for a new chief to one finalist. Now the seven-member board is off to observe the unnamed candidate in his or her workplace. No word on who, or from where, the favored applicant is.

The board had been on a fast track to find a permanent superintendent of county schools by July 1.

Yes, this is the same board that took fall, winter and spring to usher out Xavier De La Torre as county schools chief.

After De La Torre skipped town in March, Board President Leon Beauchman announced a compressed

Leon Beauchman

schedule for soliciting and culling candidates. The board received free search services from Iowa-based Ray and Associates, the same firm that produced De La Torre in 2012. Because he stayed less than two years, the firm conducted a new search at no charge.

The posting drew about 200 applicants — no surprise since the board has been paying its chiefs about $300,000. The list was narrowed down to about a dozen names, trustee Grace Mah said. In the past month, the seven-member board has been interviewing six finalists — in six special meetings in addition to one regular one.

There’s no love lost between the Santa Clara County Board of Education and Superintendent Xavier De La Torre, who on Feb. 12 was named the top choice to lead the Ysleta Independent School District in El Paso, Tex.

De La Torre told the El Paso Times that he had been applying for jobs in Texas, and if he doesn’t get Ysleta’s top job — the board is set to make its decision official on March 5 — he’ll continue searching in the Lone Star State. Partly, it seems, it’s the lure of Texas, where he worked for three years before becoming Santa Clara County superintendent of schools in July 2012.

A Texas investigation that failed to find organized test-score manipulation has dissipated a cloud over the head of Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools Xavier De La Torre.

Xavier De La Torre.

Outside attorneys reported that the Socorro Independent School District did not have illegal policies, rules or practices, nor have a “high-level, widespread, intentional effort” to skew state and federal school rankings. De La Torre served as Socorro superintendent for three years until June 2012, when he was hired by the Santa Clara County Board of Education. Continue Reading →